Business Digest February 15, 2013

Fate Brewing Co. opened Feb. 4 at 1600 38th St. in east Boulder. Fate’s management team calls it “Boulder’s first brew-bistro.” Fate Brewing is owned by Mike Lawinski. Jeff Griffith is head brewer, and Tim Berry is head chef. The space formerly was home to Jose Muldoon’s restaurant and had been vacant for several years.

Maria Trysla opened a franchise of Philadelphia-based The Marketing Department Worldwide at 10955 Westmoor Drive, Suite 400, in Westminster. As a managing partner, Trysla will offer marketing services to small businesses in the Boulder Valley. The marketing consulting agency has a network of eight offices that specialize in brand development, website design, copywriting, and collateral production. Trysla has 20 years of brand and marketing experience with Level 3 Communications Inc., Sprint and Wonder Bread. Phone is 720-254-8206 or email mtrysla@tmdworldwide.com.

Goodwill of Denver plans to open a donation center at 3043 Walnut St. in the Walnut Gardens Shopping Center in Boulder. The Goodwill Donation Center will accept gently used clothing, household goods and small furniture. A Goodwill trailer will be replaced by this new store. The donation center will be open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

CLOSINGS

Left Hand Books at 1200 Pearl St. in Boulder is scheduled to close April 15. Left Hand’s book sales have dropped in recent years as online sale of books and the popularity of electronic books have increased, said Louise Knapp, a bookstore volunteer and a member of its collective. All workers are volunteers at the store, which is run as a collective by members. Founded in 1979, the bookstore has offered author appearances, movie nights and discussion groups through its tenure. It has been at its current location since 1991. The store will offer “steep discounts” on books and will sell all fixtures and furniture through April.

BRIEFS

Green Garage has raised $600,000 from existing investors to remodel and upgrade equipment at its new store at 2907 55th St., according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The 9,000-square-foot environmentally friendly car service company remains open while the remodel work is being done. Green Garage is the trade name of Primoris Energy Solutions Inc. A 1,000-square-foot Laughing Goat Coffeehouse shop is slated to open in the next month or so in leased space in the building.

Startup accelerator TechStars joined with the Excelerate Labs accelerator in Chicago and will bring the program into the TechStars family. Excelerate Labs will be named TechStars Chicago. The Chicago program joins accelerators in Boulder, New York City, Seattle and Boston, all of which were founded and launched by TechStars.

Louisville-based Real Goods Solar Inc. (Nasdaq: RSOL) installed more than 25 megawatts of solar power in 2012 for residential, commercial and utility customers. The company also achieved a major milestone, having surpassed cumulative installations of more than 100 megawatts and more than 14,500 solar installations.

Boulder-based Sophono Inc.’s Alpha 2 hearing device received clearance for use in a magnetic resonance image field after passing tests from ASTM International. The implant passed tests for translation, torque, heating and signal loss.

AltaVita Memory Care Centre in Longmont joined LeadingAge Colorado, Colorado’s largest nonprofit association representing 200-plus providers of aging services. Opened in May 2012, AltaVita is a locally owned and family-oriented memory-care community. The 36,000-square-foot community is located at 800 South Fordham St. and includes 56 private assisted-living suites, with special memory-care services overseen by Dr. Haleh Nekoorad-Long, a certified geriatric psychiatrist.

Private-equity firm Parthenon Capital Partners has made an investment in Louisville-based Envysion Inc., a provider of video surveillance services to retailers. The amount of the investment was not disclosed. Proceeds from the transaction will be used to provide growth capital for Envysion. Parthenon brings expertise in business services, corporate strategy and operations that will help Envysion expand its platform and value proposition for customers, as well as improve operational efficiencies.

Scientists have found that “quantum dots” assemble themselves on minuscule wires, a discovery that could be applied to improving solar cell harvesting and quantum computing in the future, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden. “Quantum dots” are tiny crystals of semiconductive material – in this case with a core of gallium arsenide – that is a few billionths of a meter in diameter. The dots could be used to charge converters for better light harvesting in photovoltaic solar cells, the press release said. They also could be used to detect local electric and magnetic fields.

Simple Energy Inc. in Boulder was chosen as one of 20 companies to participate in National Grid’s smart-grid pilot to create an energy-saving system for 15,000 customers in Worcester, Massachusetts. Simple Energy will offer its online and mobile energy-saving application platform to the project. The platform combines behavioral science research and social game mechanics that encourage energy efficiency.

EARNINGS

Boulder-based cancer drug research company Array BioPharma Inc. (Nasdaq: ARRY) reported decreased revenue and an increased loss for the most recent quarter ended Dec. 31. Array reported that revenue for the quarter was $18.4 million, compared with $23.2 million for the same period a year earlier. The company reported that the decline in revenue in the most recent quarter came because of a nonrecurring $28 million license payment in the same quarter a year earlier from its partner Genentech Inc. in Vacaville, California, a wholly owned subsidiary of Roche USA. Array reported a net loss of $10.9 million, or 10 cents per share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a net loss of $3.8 million, or 6 cents per share, for the same quarter a year earlier, the press statement said. Research and development expense was $13.9 million in the most recent quarter, compared with a $13.2 million research and development expense for the same quarter a year earlier.

Broomfield-based can and packaging manufacturer Ball Corp. (NYSE: BLL) reported that net earnings for 2012 increased 12 percent from 2011, totaling $483 million. The net earnings translate to $3.06 per diluted share for 2012 compared with $444 million in net earnings, or $2.63 per diluted share in 2011. Revenue was $8.7 billion in 2012, compared with revenue of $8.6 billion in 2011. Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp., a Boulder-based division of Ball, reported operating earnings of $86.6 million in 2012, up from $79.6 million in 2011. Revenue was $876.8 million in 2012, up from $784.6 million in 2011.

UQM Technologies Inc., a company based outside Longmont that develops alternative-energy technology, reported that revenue decreased 29 percent from the year before as demand from its largest customer dropped. UQM reported revenue of $1.9 million for its third quarter ending Dec. 31, down from $2.7 million for the same quarter in 2011. That contributed to a net loss of $4.6 million, or 12 cents per common share. UQM lost $800,000, or 3 cents per common share, during the quarter in 2011. Another cause for the loss was lack of shipments to CODA, a California-based electric vehicle manufacturer that signed a major contract with UQM for propulsion systems. UQM incurred a charge of $3.8 million, or 10 cents per common share, to establish an allowance for doubtful accounts for CODA receivables.

Boulder-based surgical-device maker Encision Inc. (PK: ECIA) reported quarterly product revenue of $2.9 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, a 10 percent increase from product revenue for the same period a year earlier. Encision reported product revenue of $2.7 million for the quarter. Service revenue for the quarter was $100,000, down $379,000 from the $479,000 posted for the same quarter a year earlier.

CONTRACTS

MWH Constructors Inc. in Broomfield will provide construction management services for the El Toro Water District in Orange County, California. The El Toro Recycled Water Expansion project, valued at $26 million, will consist of three pipeline projects and one water treatment plant expansion. The existing water treatment plant serves communities in South Orange County, including Laguna Hills and Laguna Woods. Construction is to begin early this year, and the project is slated for completion in late 2014.

Louisville-based Envysion Inc., a provider of managed video as a service, was selected as exclusive video provider by Desert De Oro Foods and Preferred Wireless. Desert De Oro, a Yum! Brands franchise, began deploying Envysion Insight in its more than 130 Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants. Preferred Wireless will leverage Envysion’s video-driven business intelligence to gain greater visibility into the selling techniques in its stores in an effort to drive up-selling efforts, and to audit high-risk transactions to reduce inventory loss.

Intelligent Power & Energy Research Corp. of Colorado selected Workshop8 to design the interior of its new office and research space at 4321 Mulligan Drive in Longmont. Joseph Vigil IV will be project architect and Ulla Lange will design the interior. Narvaes Western Construction will be the general contractor.

Boulder-based Workshop8 was hired by Intelligent Power & Energy Research Corp. of Colorado to design the interior of its office at 4321 Mulligan Drive, Longmont. Joseph Vigil IV, AIA, will serve as project architect, and Ulla Lange will provide interior design services. Boulder-based Narvaes Western Construction LLC will be the general contractor.

Boulder-based FreeWave Technologies Inc., a manufacturer of spread spectrum radios, was hired by Hawaiian Electric Co. to install fault circuit indicators, or FCIs, throughout the island of Oahu. The indicators will detect fault data and transmit it in real-time with FreeWave’s wireless data radios. The utility worked with FreeWave and its partner Power Delivery Products Inc., which provided the Smart Navigator FCI sensors, to install a network using FreeWave’s FGR2-PE radios for long-range wireless communications. Deployment started in late 2012 and will continue throughout 2013.

Eco-friendly gear maker Green Guru Gear in Boulder partnered with Minneapolis-based bicycle-repair company Bike Fixtation LLC to acquire blown-out bicycle inner tubes. Green Guru recycles the inner tubes into bike bags and other accessories, which it sells at outdoor retail stores. Green Guru will pay for shipping to have the blown-out inner tubes shipped to Boulder. The two companies each paid an undisclosed amount so Bike Fixtation could build two test recycling boxes.

GRANTS

The North Face presented Boulder-based Satellite Boardshop with a $5,000 award to support activities that encourage people to participate in outdoor sports. Satellite was selected for its commitment and fresh approach to growing board sport participation in Boulder and beyond.

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Sound Surgical Technologies LLC, a Louisville-based company that develops and makes surgical and nonsurgical devices used by cosmetic surgeons, has signed a definitive acquisition agreement with a California company for a deal worth $30.5 million. Solta Medical Inc. (Nasdaq: SLTM), which also makes equipment for the “medical aesthetics” market, will acquire SST for $25.5 million in Solta common stock and $5 million in cash, according to a release from the companies. The deal is expected to close before the end of the first quarter.

SERVICES

Louisville-based Zayo Group introduced 100-gigabyte wavelength services on its New York City to Philadelphia and Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. fiber routes. The system will give customers the ability to scale with bandwidth intensive applications beyond speeds currently available. The Northeast Corridor, which connects Washington, D.C. to New York City through Philadelphia, has a concentration of financial, government and large enterprise customers that require high-bandwidth solutions. This represents the company’s first native 100-gigabyte wavelength route.

Louisville-based Real Goods Solar Inc. (Nasdaq: RSOL) is partnering with San Francisco-based Sunrun Inc. on offering residential solar service options in California, Colorado, Massachusetts and New York. Real Goods Solar will design, engineer and manage the installation of residential solar systems, while Sunrun will own, insure, monitor and maintain the equipment.

Lafayette-based Door to Door Organics, a company that provides home-delivery of natural and organic foods, is offering a new service, Door to Door Organics Kitchen, which allows customers to shop online by recipe and have the ingredients delivered. Recipes are provided by local food bloggers and chefs. The recipe database is searchable by categories such as vegan and gluten-free. Website is www.colorado.doortodoororganics.com/.

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